The Kennedy family produced a number of remarkable sons and daughters, but today one of it's brightest stars departed from this world.
Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who founded the Special Olympics and helped demonstrate that the mentally disabled can triumph on the field of competition and lead rich and productive lives outside the walls of institutions, died Tuesday at age 88. Her work for the intellectually disabled was the first step toward the Americans With Disabilities Act which acknowledged that all citizens, even those with disabilities, have a right to achieve as much as they can, and not be excluded from life because a wheel chair can't go up stairs.

She was the recipient of numerous honors, including the nation's highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which she received in 1984. Well into her 70s, she remained a daily presence at the Special Olympics headquarters.

For more details about the changes in the world that this woman helped to bring about see here.